The present invention relates to a patient support such as a hospital bed, surgical table, stretcher or chair. More particularly, the present invention relates to a patient support that is configured to receive a digital x-ray device.
Numerous types of hospital beds, surgical tables, hospital chairs, and other devices for supporting a patient are known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,548 to Weismiller et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/188,785 entitled xe2x80x9cSurgical Tablexe2x80x9d, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,284, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/798,317 entitled xe2x80x9cAmbulatory Care Chairxe2x80x9d, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,593, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/009,522 entitled xe2x80x9cHospital Bedxe2x80x9d, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,888, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/895,847 entitled xe2x80x9cTrauma Stretcherxe2x80x9d, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,149, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,111 to Heimbrock, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Numerous types of digital x-ray systems are also known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,844,964 to Aichinger et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,401 to Robinson; U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,500 to Baba et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,844,961 to McEvoy et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,610 to Yamamoto et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,530 to Godlewski et al., the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Digital x-ray machines allow x-rays to be viewed and stored as digital images on computers without ever having to make a film copy. The digital x-ray images created by these x-ray machines can be e-mailed or otherwise transmitted between doctors or radiologists in different cities over an electrical communication network or via the Internet.
According to the present invention, a patient support apparatus includes a patient support portion and at least one digital x-ray cassette coupled to the patient support portion. In an illustrated embodiment, a transmitter is electrically coupled to the at least one digital x-ray cassette. The transmitter is coupled to the patient support portion. The transmitter can be either a port connector or an infrared transmitter.
In another illustrated embodiment, a storage device is electrically coupled to the at least one digital x-ray cassette. The storage device is coupled to the patient support portion and is used to store a digital image.
In another illustrated embodiment, the patient support portion is a mattress. In one version of this embodiment, the at least one digital x-ray cassette is located within an interior region of the mattress. In another version of this embodiment, the at least one digital x-ray cassette is coupled to a bottom surface of the mattress.
In another illustrated embodiment, the patient support portion includes a base and a deck coupled to the base. The at least one digital x-ray cassette is coupled to the deck. The port connector is coupled to one of the base and the deck. In one illustrated embodiment, the deck includes a back section, a seat section, and a leg section. The at least one digital x-ray cassette is coupled to one of the back section, the seat section, and the leg section. In one embodiment, separate digital x-ray cassettes are mounted to each of the back section, the seat section, and the leg section.
In another illustrated embodiment, the deck is formed to include a cassette receiving aperture configured to receive the at least one digital x-ray cassette, and a fastener is configured to hold the at least one digital x-ray cassette within the aperture. In yet another illustrated embodiment, the at least one digital x-ray cassette is mounted to a top surface of the deck. In still another illustrated embodiment, the at least one digital x-ray cassette is mounted to a bottom surface of the deck.
In a further illustrated embodiment, a plurality of digital x-ray cassettes are coupled to the patient support portion. In one version of this embodiment, the port connector is coupled to the plurality of digital x-ray cassettes through a switch. In another version of this embodiment, a plurality of port connectors are coupled to one of the base in the patient support portion. Each port connector is coupled to one of the digital x-ray cassettes.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the illustrated embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.